


Second Chance

by TripCreates



Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Arranged Marriage, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Light Angst, M/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-28
Updated: 2017-04-28
Packaged: 2018-10-24 17:41:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10746627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TripCreates/pseuds/TripCreates
Summary: Haru is not entirely happy with his arranged marriage to Prince Rin. Didn't like his life already being decided for him by someone else. But after he sees again Rin after six years, maybe he's willing to give him another chance.





	Second Chance

**Author's Note:**

> Rinharu Week is going on right now and I just had to find a way to participate somehow for it. I realized I haven't written a fic dedicated to solely them so I definitely had to fix that. 
> 
> I've never done an AU like this before so I hope it turned out all right. For some reason I really wanted to try an arranged marriage idea and see how it worked for them. ~~please ignore the lame kingdom names~~
> 
> Unbeta'd so I'm sure there are some typos I missed. I tried catching as many as I could and I apologize for any that remain. 
> 
> Let me know what you think of this in the comments. Enjoy!

Haru did not want to be in the carriage nor did he want to spend the next month in Samezuka. It was not his ideal location to visit, preferring to just stay home in Iwatobi and swim, and he tried not to think about how soon he’ll be spending the rest of his life here once he’s married to Prince Matsuoka.

It was by no means a marriage for love. It was simply a way to strengthen the bonds between the two neighboring kingdoms. The late king tried to ease the long standing tension between Samezuka and Iwatobi with Haru’s parents, wanting to bring peace between them. Haru’s parents were willing to work something out, so the betrothal between their first born children was proposed.

Haru barley remembered the first time he met Rin. They were both five, Haru almost six, when the formal ceremony took place. They weren’t given the chance to around each other that much, which was perfectly fine by Haru who was bored with it all. He just wanted to go home. It was a slow process but the union brought about a fragile state of peace between the kingdoms.

As Haru stared out the window, reflecting on his current state, the familiar castle loomed ahead of the carriages and Haru thought back to the last time he was there six years ago.

 

* * *

 

_“Come on, Haru-chan, let’s have a race. I bet I can beat you to that tree and back,” Rin said, a huge smile on his lips, a light breeze ruffled his hair as they stood in the garden._

_Haru stared at the twelve-year-old, not wanting anything to do with that. His mother had forced him outside with Rin so the two of them could play and have fun together. Something about wanting them to start forming a friendship. Haru had zoned out on her while she was talking. He had a little understanding of what his betrothal meant and he didn’t want to be a part of it. He wanted to be free to do as he wanted, not have something decided for him like even if he was a prince._

_Rin was nice enough but was the complete opposite of Haru. Where Haru was quiet and reserved, not interested in talking unless he had to, Rin_ wanted _to spend time with Haru and talk to him._

_“I don’t want to. And don’t call me ‘chan’,” Haru grumbled. He wasn’t going to admit the fact that he hated running and wasn’t very fast  at it._

_Rin wasn’t deterred by Haru’s attitude. “Okay, what would you like to do, Haru?” he asked._

_Without thinking about it, Haru replied, “Swim.”_

_Rin’s eyes lit up and somehow his smile grew even more. “You do? I like swimming too. We have a pool. Let’s go swim!” He turned to his mother, who was talking to Haru’s mother as they watched over their sons, and asked, “Mother, can we go swimming?”_

_The queen turned toward her son. “It’s alright with me,” she said, glancing to Haru’s mother for confirmation._

_Haru’s mother smiled. “Haru loves to swim, so of course he can join you,” she replied._

_Thirty minutes later, Haru’s hand slapped against the side of the pool, breathing heavily. Rin was right next to him, only a couple of seconds behind him. Haru couldn’t remember the last time someone kept up with him like that in a while._

_“I thought for sure I would win,” Rin said, turning to face Haru as he pushed the wet hair from his face. “Want to go again?”_

_Haru nodded and they took their starting positions._

_Haru won again._

_Rin was clearly frustrated by this but surprisingly wasn’t taking it out negatively on Haru. “We should have another race tomorrow and I’m sure I can beat you then!” he said, a determined look in his eyes._

_Haru didn’t care about which of them was the fastest ,but the prospect of getting to swim again while on this trip thrilled him. It gave him something to look forward to. The fact that Rin was a good opponent was nice too._

_However, the next morning Haru was awoken early by his mother telling him they were leaving very soon. Haru was disappointed he wouldn’t get to swim with Rin again after all. He’d actually enjoyed it the day before._

_“Why are we leaving now? I thought we were staying until the end of the week,” he said as a servant dressed him._

_“King Matsuoka has been called away to take care of  unexpected matters in another kingdom across the sea. He has to leave now in order to get there in time. We’ll come back for another visit later once he has returned so you can spend more time with Prince Rin,” his mother explained._

_“But we were going to swim today,” Haru said under his breath._

_Haru’s mother smiled at him having caught his words. “You two can swim together next time.”_

_Haru nodded. Part of him was happy to be returning home early ,but now he had to wait longer to swim again with Rin._

_The royal family saw them off before Haru and his parents climbed into the carriages._

_“I look forward to seeing you next time, Haru,” Rin said while their parents talked. “And I’m going to win our race for sure!”_

_“If you say so,” Haru replied._

_Before he could react, Rin threw his arms around Haru for a hug. Haru stilled in his arms, not knowing what to do at the unexpected hug. He heard Rin’s mother say something about how happy she was to see them getting along now, causing him to feel a tinge of embarrassment._

_Rin soon pulled away and with one last goodbye, Haru climbed into the carriage. He gave a polite wave to Rin from the window before the carriage pulled away._

_As they made their journey home, there was a small part of Haru that was looking forward to returning to Samezuka and seeing Rin again._

_(Tragedy would soon befall the Matsuoka royal family and it would be another six years before Haru returned to Samezuka or see Rin again.)_

 

* * *

 

The carriages drew closer to the castle and Haru didn’t know how he felt about seeing Rin again. There had been little communication between the two of them over the years. Haru carried on with his life in Iwatobi, going through his studies and swimming whenever he could. It almost caused Haru to forget he was engaged to be married. Almost.

Servants were already waiting for them at the main entrance when the carriages pulled up and the queen regent and princess soon stepped out to greet them. Haru had forgotten Rin even had a younger sister.

“I apologize for my son’s absence. He wanted to be here to greet you himself but his advisement meeting has gone longer than anticipated,” the queen explained to Haru after formal greetings were done. “You will be able to see him at lunch, which will be ready soon.”

Haru nodded and was glad his mother asked something to keep him from replying. He now had more time to prepare himself before seeing Rin again.

He followed behind his parents inside, hanging back a couple steps from the group. Haru didn’t pay much attention to their conversation and instead took in his surroundings. Everything looked the same as it had six years ago except for the large portrait of the late king hanging on the wall as they went further into the castle.

Haru starred at the painting as they passed. He remembered his parents telling him about the shipwreck that had claimed his life. It was the same voyage the king had taken that made Haru’s family leave Samezuka early all those years ago. Rin had been too young to take over in his father’s place so his mother resided over until Rin turned eighteen and married.

The queen regent and princess soon took their leave and their servants showed Haru and family to their rooms. Haru wasn’t interested in resting before their meal and wanted to stretch out his sore muscles instead. And he knew just where he was going to go for that.

After a quick change of clothes, he quietly slipped out his room and made his way down the hall. Thankfully, he passed no one in the halls and made his way outside.

The sun shined brightly on the garden before him, but Haru didn’t pay much attention to it as he walked. There was only one thing on his mind and he wasn’t going to stop until he reached it. He vaguely remembered the layout of the grounds and knew the pool was around there somewhere.

After a few minutes of wandering around, the pool soon appeared ahead of him as he turned the corner to the left side of the castle. Haru’s pace quicken as he made his way over to it. To his luck, the gate around it was unlocked and was able to enter without a problem.

Without a glance around him, Haru quickly undressed down to his swimsuit he put on and tossed the clothes onto a chair along the side. He didn’t hesitate as he jumped into the pool, not caring if this was permitted or not. He was the prince's betrothed after all so that should come with perks, like using the royal swimming pool.

Instantly, Haru felt relaxed as he started a slow lap across the pool. All his worries about the upcoming wedding planning drifted away as he swam. All that mattered now was the clear, blue water surrounding him. Haru could always count on the water to calm him, no matter what was going on in his life.

It wasn’t long before Haru completely forgot where he was, and how long he was he in the pool, as he swam. But the peace was eventually disrupted when someone shouted, “What do you think you’re doing in my pool?”

Haru was floating on his back when he heard the words and opened his eyes to see Prince Rin standing by the pools edge, an angry expression across his face. It was a far cry from the friendly boy he knew as a child and only recognized him because of the maroon colored hair. No longer was he the smiling boy that Haru remembered.

Haru shifted so that he was standing in the pool and looked up at Rin. “My apologies,” his mother’s manner speaking for him.

He continued to stare up at Rin, waiting for a response and noticed the other’s realization of who he was flit across his eyes.

 

Rin starred down at the stranger in his pool, arms crossed against his chest. He saw someone jump in from his window as he readied himself to meet his guests and couldn’t believe someone would have the audacity to do this. He couldn’t tell who it was from the distance and hoped it wasn’t a servant foolish enough to do that. Despite needing to finish getting ready to see the Nanase family, Rin had to sort this out for himself.

He quickly made his way to the pool and stopped by the edge, realizing the stranger looked to be his age and no one that worked here for his family. It must have been someone that came with the Nanase family. When the young man opened his eyes and met his gaze, Rin remembered those blue eyes from anywhere.

“Haru,” he breathed, his voice taking on a lighter tone as his anger dissipated. He hadn’t expected to find him out here.

Rin had been looking forward to seeing Haru again and to get a second chance at making a better impression on the other man. He had lots of years to think about Haru and he felt like they never got off on the right foot when they first met. Maybe he did something wrong to cause Haru’s disinterest in him. This was his chance to change that since they were older. But now that he was right in front of him, he didn’t know what to say. Plus, he was trying to keep his gaze up and not staring down on his exposed chest.

Silence stretched between them before Haru started towards the edge of the pool to get out.

“You don’t have to get out. It’s okay if you stay in and swim,” Rin quickly said before Haru could pull himself out of the water.

Haru fixed him with a pointed look. “I thought you wanted me out?”

“You can stay in as long as you want. I just wasn’t expecting to find you down here.”

Haru continued to stare at him for another minute before pushing away.

Rin remained standing as he watched Haru begin another lap. Haru was still seemed to be the same distant boy from when they were younger. He’d hoped Haru might have grown out of that over the years. He knew they were in a forced relationship but Rin wanted to make the most of it and at least become friends with Haru. That would at least make things easier for them even if Rin felt something for him. Admittedly, it seemed ridiculous even to Rin to have these feelings for Haru since they barely knew each other, and was certain said feelings were one-sided, but that didn’t stop him from having them. But if Haru wasn’t interested, Rin wasn’t going to force anything on the other.

He wanted to see Haru more over the years and let their relationship develop to make this current visit less awkward but there wasn’t anything he could do about that now. The early death of his father changed all that, like being sent away sooner for his schooling and focusing all his time on learning everything he needed to know to rule. He’d only returned home just a few months ago. Rin was thankful his mother took over in his place until he was ready but that time was soon coming to an end.

Rin was up to his neck in constant adviser meetings, making sure he knew everything he needed to know before he was crowned and it was all so daunting. The only solace he found was when he found some alone time to swim and that didn’t even happen often.

As Rin watched Haru swim, an old memory resurfaced.

“Hey, Haru,” he called out to get his attention. When Haru stopped and looked over at him, Rin continued. “I think you owe me a rematch.”

He smiled when Haru looked at him with a determined expression and nodded.

Rin wasn’t deterred by not having a swimsuit on and striped down to his small clothes. He noticed Haru turned to give him some privacy but still sneaked a glance his way. He took that as a good sign that maybe his feelings weren’t one-sided.

After some stretching and warm laps in the pool, both took their starting positions. Once they started, Rin felt amazing swimming next to Haru again. Nothing else mattered in that moment.

They hit the wall and turned at the same time for the final lap. Rin continued to push himself until the last moment but it was Haru that beat him once again.

Rin pushed his fringe back out of his face, taking deep breaths as he looked over at Haru. “Looks like you still got it,” he said. “I’m going to beat you one of these days.”

“We’ll see about that,” Haru teased back and it caught Rin by surprise.

Rin smiled but it soon vanished when he heard his mother’s voice next. “So, this is where you two ran off to,” she said.

Rin and Haru looked up see her along with Haru’s parents beside her. Thankfully none of them looked too particularly angry with them but it was still an unpleasant situation to be in regardless.

“You know the two of you are not to be alone with each other. You’re supposed to be accompanied by a chaperone,” his mother continued.

“Mother, we’re not children anymore,” Rin said.

“All the more reason _not_ to be alone together.”

The implication of her words made Rin blush a little and he ducked his head. They were both out here alone and nearly naked. That probably didn’t help their case.

“I’m sorry, mother. We didn’t mean to worry anyone,” Rin said.

His mother smiled at him. “It’s alright. When we learned that Prince Haru was not in his room as well, it was suggested we check here first to find you. Lunch is almost ready and I expect the two of you dressed and there on time.”

Rin and Haru nodded and climbed out of the pool. A servant handed each of them a towel to dry off with before they made their way back inside.

 

Haru and Rin went their separate ways once inside the castle, led by their respective parents. Haru noticed Rin glance back him one last time before he turned a corner. Haru could hear his parents lightly arguing about how he sneaked off and how improper it was for him to be alone with Rin but he tuned them out. He couldn’t stop thinking about Rin’s smile at the end of their race. He’d been worried Rin’s reaction to losing again but was glad that wasn’t the case. Even if Haru didn’t care about who won, most people back home didn’t like swimming with him anymore since he always won.

But Rin was different. Rin wanted to swim with Haru and keep swimming with despite losing. And swimming with Rin brought something new to it for Haru that he hadn’t felt with anyone else. Haru couldn’t quite explain it but he wanted to keep swimming with Rin. And wasn’t too opposed to seeing him outside of the pool as well.

As he dressed into some dry clothing, Haru still wasn’t sure how he felt about Rin or this approaching marriage between them. That was still a lot to take in and come to terms with, but he did know he wanted to keep experiencing that same feeling he did back in the pool with Rin. He couldn’t swim without him. There was still a lot they needed to learn about one another, but Haru was now a little more willing to give Rin that chance.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Part of me would love to continue this with a longer sequel but I'm not sure if I'll ever have time for it. We shall see that the future holds. 
> 
> If you liked this and want to reblog on tumblr, use this [post](http://bekasyura.tumblr.com/post/160087470916/second-chance).
> 
> You can find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/bekasyura) and [tumblr](http://bekasyura.tumblr.com/) as @bekasyura. Feel free to come and talk to me about Free!


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